If you are hooked on watching fantasy or reading science fiction, you may be on to something. Contrary to the common misunderstanding that reading science fiction and fantasy is an unworthy practice, reading it may help young people cope, especially with the stress and anxiety of living while developing critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence for young readers.

Historically, parents have considered literature “good” for young people if it provides moral guidance that reflects their own values. The question is, how does literature of science fiction perform its educational function? This is central to the conflict between parents and educators about what kids should read. For a long time, those who read it have been stigmatized(污名化)as geeks who can’t cope with reality.

A 2015 survey found that these science fiction readers were also major consumers of a wide range of other types of books. In fact, the study noted a close connection between reading varied literary forms and an ability to understand science. Rather than limiting readers’ capacity to deal with reality, reading outside-the-box creative stories may expand their ability to engage reality based on science.

Science fiction does not need to provide real stories about serious social and political issues. Instead, it offers a distance between them. This distance gives readers an approach to coping with complexity and using their imagination to manage real-life challenges. It is why they are powerful and where their value lies. What better way to deal with the uncertainty in life than with science fiction, which explores uncertainty and depicts young people as brave characters, survivors and shapers of their own fates?

Reading science fiction, young people can see themselves-coping, surviving and learning lessons-that may enable them to create their own strategies for life. And the critical thinking and wise habits of mind prompted by this type of literature may actually produce creativity that everyday life and reality typically do not.

Taste is such a subjective matter that we don’t usually conduct preference tests for food. The most you can say about anyone’s preference is that it’s one person’s opinion. But because the two big cola companies-Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola-are marketed so aggressively, we’ve wondered how big a role taste preference actually plays in brand loyalty. We set up a taste test that challenged people who identified themselves as either Coca-cola or Pepsi fans: Find your brand in a blind tasting.

We invited staff volunteers who had a strong liking for either Coca-Cola Classic or Pepsi, Diet Coke, or Diet Pepsi. These were people who thought they’d have no trouble telling their brand from the other brand.

We eventually located 19 regular cola drinkers and 27 diet cola drinkers. Then we fed them with four unidentified samples of cola one at a time, regular colas for the one group, diet versions for the other. We asked them to tell us whether each sample was Coke or Pepsi; then we analyzed the records statistically to compare the participants’ choices with what mere guesswork could have accomplished.

Getting all four samples right was a tough test, but not too tough, we thought, for people who believed they could recognize their brand. In the end, only 7 out of 19 regular cola drinkers correctly identified their brand of choice in all four trials. The diet-cola drinkers did a little worse-only 7 out of 27 identified all four samples correctly.

Both groups did better than chance would predict, but nearly half the participants in each group made the wrong choice two or more times. Two people got all four samples wrong. Overall, half the participants did about as well on the last round of tasting as on the first, so tiredness, or taste burnout, was not a factor. Our preference test results suggest that only a few Pepsi participants and Coke fans may really be able to tell their favorite brand by taste and price.

Optimism (乐观) doesn’t mean paying no attention to things that cause stress. But when bad things happen, optimistic people are less likely to be unhappy about themselves and more likely to see the bad things as something that lasts a short time.

A new research has found a direct connection between optimism and healthier diet and exercise behaviors, as well as better heart health, a stronger immune system (免疫系统), better lung function, and lower death risk. “Optimistic people, regardless of sex, often have goals and the confidence to reach them,” Lee said. “Those goals could include healthy habits that contribute to a longer life.”

Studies find only about 25% of our optimism is controlled by our genes (基因), and the rest is up to us. It turns out we can actually train our brain to be more positive. Researchers studied the brains of monks (僧侣) and found surprising results: Tens of thousands of hours of meditation(冥思) had changed the function (机能) of their brains, which support positive qualities. And that may be key in producing the effect on the body.

There are simple mental exercises to develop an optimistic attitude. One of the most effective ways to increase optimism is called the “Best Possible Self” method. That is to imagine ourselves in a future in which we have achieved all our life goals. And keeping a diary in which we list the positive experiences we had can also help shape our attitude. Taking a few minutes each day to write down what makes us thankful can improve our view on life, too.